LIFELONG LEARNING

Lifelong Learning

Lifelong Learning

The topic of lifelong learning is currently being researched primarily outside of the United States, particularly by several European nations. The United Kingdom has a government-sponsored department of lifelong learning charged with supporting citizens in their vocational preparation and field transitions. As the international community examines the effects of globalization on the world of work, lifelong learning will continue to be explored. Formal and informal education demands are on the rise in every competitive industrialized nation. Lifelong learning is, therefore, a global education trend that demands further examination (Tight, 2006).

Lifelong learning is the notion that all adults should have access to ongoing education. Researchers have long advocated the value of lifelong learning as important in professional and vocational accomplishment in an age of increasing complexity. It is viewed as a mechanism to assist individuals in obtaining the capabilities and knowledge that allows adaptation to different work situations and career and life stages (Strain, 2008). In this sense, adult and continuing-education programs form an essential link in the overall framework of lifelong learning. As William Maehl observed, lifelong learning is a functioning system of values, policies, organizations, and processes intended to provide individuals with access, opportunities, and services to support their learning from infancy to old age. Lifelong learning is viewed as broader than adult education because of its “cradle-to-grave” focus, which incorporates both public schooling and adult and continuing education (Maehl, 2005).

The objective of lifelong learning is to help adults build the skills and knowledge to help them adapt to life stages and changes. Adult continuing education is an essential and popular part of lifelong learning; indeed, adult and continuing-education enroll more individuals than K-12 and higher education combined in the United States. Although lifelong learning is often thought of as an adult enterprise, its advocates recommend ...